Page 91 of No Ordinary Girl
“Oh… that.”
“I thought you liked Leo.”
“It’s complicated,” I started, already exhausted, or knackered, as Ace would say. And the conversation had barely begun. “I swear I don’t like him. He just did that thing he does.”
“What thing?” she asked curiously.
“You know... the thing where he looks at you intensely, and then you get caught up in his stare, and he owns you.”
Her mouth turned downward. “No, I don’t know. He’s never looked at me that way.”
I felt bad for her. She was pretty and sweet, and I really didn’t understand why Ace took a fancy to me, and not her. “Well… anyway, I don’t like him. And I’m never looking at him again, so it’s done.”
“Really?!”
“Really,” I said. “You know how much I like Leo. I still do. He’s the only one for me.”
“So you and Ace are not a thing?”
I shook my head. “No way. Never in a million years.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry for shutting you out.”
I sat next to her, and gave her a hug. “It’s okay.”
“I’m acting kind of pathetic. I’m such a girl,” she said.
“It’s Ace… he drives people crazy.”
We spent the night playing cards, and eating the last of our stash of candy. We were playing a game of crazy eights and eating Milk Duds on my bed when she asked me, “So what’s up with you and Leo. I heard he was there when you kissed Ace. Are you two broken up?”
“We can’t be broken up,” I said to her. “We’ve barely started. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
She smiled. “Your soul mate?”
“Feels that way,” I admitted. “I hope he forgives me.” I looked over at the telephone -- he still hadn’t called. “I swear, I don’t know what I’ll do if we can’t be together. I’ll go crazy.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yes, I have it pretty bad. I think I need one of your potions.”
“Oh no, you don’t want that,” she said, picking up a card. “You don’t want to forget him. If I work my magic on you, you’ll forget any emotion you’ve ever shared. You’ll be nothing but numb around him. You’ll feel nothing.”
“Wow,” I said. “No… I definitely don’t want that. I want to remember him forever. He’s my first love.”
She smiled. “Then he’s worth keeping.”
32
Monday rolled around sluggishly, like any typical Monday. I had the hardest time getting up. It was a good thing that Alicia and I were friends again because she was the one who pulled me out of bed.
I took Pompom to school because he seemed lonely, sitting on my window sill. His little head popped out of the front pocket of my bag.
Social studies was my first class, and although it’s one of my favorite subjects, I really didn’t want to go because Brianna was in that class. On my way to class, I went over my list of haters.
Brianna Williams: hates me. Probably wants me dead--to be determined shortly.
Alicia Chan: hated me for about a day. Besties again! :)
